Winding apparatus

ABSTRACT

Winding apparatus, such as a Model 959 take-up machine, manufactured by Leesona Corporation, Warwick, R.I., has a base on which a spindle frame is pivotally mounted for receiving a yarn package and urging the package against a roller bail mounted on the base. As the package increases in diameter during winding, the spindle frame is progressively moved away from the roller bail which continues to engage the face of the package. The package may tend to bounce or otherwise move away from and toward the roller bail for various reasons, such as an eccentricity in the longitudinal face of the package developing during winding or caused by an eccentric package core. A friction type dampener is provided for dampening such movement of the package on and off of the bail. This dampener has a frictional dampening part fixed to the base and movably secured to the spindle frame by a leaf spring having one end fixed to the dampener and the other end secured to the spindle frame to eliminate any play therebetween in the direction of movement of the spindle frame toward and away from the roller bail, while permitting relative movement between the spindle frame and the dampener. Frictional retardation provided by the dampener is adjustable.

'[22] Filed:

United States Patent [1 1 Allam et al.

[541 WINDING APPARATUS [75] inventors James NT AIIam, Woods ticket,

Mar. 1, 1971 [21] Appi. No.: 122,601

52 US. Cl ....242 1s R, 242/18 B [51] Int. Cl. ..B65h 54/02 [58] Field of Search ..242/18 R, 18 B, 18 DD, 242/43 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,985,394 5/1961 Nelson et al. ..242/18 R 1,799,153 4/1931 Brink ..242/18 R 2,243,678 5/1941 McKean ..242/18 R 2,594,509 4/1952 Stahl ..242/l8 R 2,677,506 5/1954 Moos ..242/18 R 2,781,177 2/1957 Petersen ..242/l8 R 3,375,989 4/1968 League ..242/18 R Primary Examiner- Stanley N. Gilreath A tt0rney Albert P. Davis 1 May 15, 1973 [57] ABSTRACT Winding apparatus, such as a Model 959 take-up machine, manufactured by Leesona Corporation, Warwick, R.1., has a base on which a spindle frame is pivotally mounted for receiving a yarn package and urging the package against a roller bail mounted on the base. As the package increases in diameter during winding, the spindle frame is progressively moved away from the roller bail which continues to engage the face of the package. The package may tend to bounce or otherwise move away from and toward the roller bail for various reasons, such as an eccentricity in the longitudinal face of the package developing during winding or caused by an eccentric package core. A friction type dampener is provided for dampening such movement of the package on and off of the bail. This dampener has a frictional dampening part fixed to the base and movably secured to the spindle frame by a leaf spring having one end fixed to the dampener and the other end secured to the spindle frame to eliminate any play therebetween in the direction of movement of the spindle frame toward and away from the roller bail, while permitting; relative movement between the spindle frame and the dampener. Frictional retardation provided by the dampener is adjustable.

" 8 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PAIENTED HAY] 51973 F I e. 4 5 L INVENTORS JAMES KN. ALLAM WILLIAM M. BENSE ATTbz s WINDING APPARATUS This invention relates to winding apparatus and, more particularly, to controlling the movement of a package being wound on the apparatus.

As used herein the term package means a body of yarn, or an article on which a body of yarn is or may be wound so that the yarn may be readily moved from place to place. The term yarn" is employed in a general sense to apply to all kinds of strand material, either textile or otherwise.

In various types of winders difficulty may be encountered because of the yarn package bouncing or otherwise moving on and off of a pressure roll which engages the longitudinal face of the package during winding. To deter such movement some form of dampening is generally provided. Often a dampening device must be hingedly connected with parts of the winder, but hinge connections permit play between the dampener and the portion of the winder to which it is connected, and such play is undesirable because it reduces the effectiveness of the dampener. Some dampening devices, such as frictionally slidabledogs, permit relatively free movement in one direction while retarding movement in the opposite direction. Such dog type dampeners may permit relatively easy movement of the package away from the pressure roll and relatively restricted movement back to the pressure roll, in which case the package remains out of contact with the roll an undesirably long period of time. Furthermore, a dog of this type may, through vibration of the winder, cause the package to walk away from the pressure roll so that the ironing effect of the pressure roll on the package is lost. Also, under these circumstances the yarn may release itself from the traverse guide. Friction type dampeners are in common use in conjunction with winding apparatus and have many desirable characteristics but under varying circumstances commonly found in a winding environment the frictional drag may be undesirably varied. For example when the friction surfaces are dry they will normally exert a higher frictional drag than when they are coated with a yarn finish.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide a new and useful winding apparatus.

Another object is provision of new and useful winding apparatus for retarding uncontrolled movement of a package being wound on the apparatus.

The invention, in brief, is directed to apparatus for winding a package mounted on a support and urged into facial engagement with a pressure member, the distance between the support and the pressure member increasing as the package increases in diameter. To deter bouncing or other abrupt movements between the package and the pressure member a dampener is provided. The dampener is connected with the winder to eliminate free play in the direction of movement between the support and the pressure member, the connection including a resilient member in the form of a leaf spring fixed to a portion of the dampener and to the part of the winder requiring dampening. The dampener is of a frictional type and a resilient adjustment is provided for varying the dampening effect.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. I is a fragmentary, schematic side view of a preferred embodiment of the invention, during an early stage of winding of a package, with parts broken away and removed for clearer illustration;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. I, to a reduced scale, during a later stage of winding of the package;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are enlarged, fragmentary sectional views taken generally along the lines 3--3 and 4-4, respectively, in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary, schematic sectional view taken generally along the line 5-5 in FIG. 4.

With initial reference to FIG. 1 of the drawing, a winder such as the previously noted Model No. 959 take-up, has a base unit 10 including a base 12 with a pedestal l4. Mounted on the pedestal 14 are package handling units including: (1) a package support in the form of a spindle frame 16 pivotally mounted on the pedestal 14 by means of opposite lugs 18 (only one visible) and (2) a pressure member in the form of a roll, and more particularly a roller bail 20, suitably journaled (not shown) on the pedestal 14. Also suitably mounted on the pedestal 14 is a motor 22 connected through a belt drive 24 with a rotary spindle 26 journaled at the upper end of the spindle frame 16 and carrying a chuck 28 which receives a package core 30. The spindle 26 rotates the core 30 in the direction of the arrow 32 for winding a strand of yarn 34 onto the core 30 to form a yarn package 36. The motor 22 also drives a traverse mechanism 38, mounted on the pedestal 14, which includes a yarn traverse guide 40 for traversing the yarn 34 to and fro as it is wound to form package 36.

For various reasons which are well understood in the art the package 36 may tend to bounce or otherwise abruptly move away from and back against the roller bail 20. Still with general reference to FIG. 1 a dampening assembly is provided for controlling such abrupt movement. The dampening assembly 42 includes a rigid slide 44 (FIGS. 1, 4 and 5) having an arcuate slot 46 (FIG. 1) snugly slidably received on a stud 48. The stud 48 abuts against pedestal 14 on a shoulder 50 of the stud (FIG. 5). A reduced threaded end 52 of the stud 48 extends through a hole 54 in pedestal 14 and is secured to the pedestal by a nut 56. A set screw 58 (FIG. 5) is threaded into the pedestal 14 and seated against the stud 48 to further aid in holding the stud fixed to the pedestal.

Frictional dampening is provided by a pair of friction washers 60 received on the stud 48 with a snug sliding fit and engaging opposite faces of the slide 44. An outer one of the friction washers 60 is seated against a stop collar 62 seated in an annular groove in the outer end of the stud 48..An inner one of the friction washers 60 receives one end of a spiral compression spring 64 compressed on the stud 48. The opposite end of spring 64 is seated on an abutment member in the form of a rod 66 (FIGS. 4 and 5) extending through an axially elongated slot 68 (FIG. 5) in the stud. To adjust the frictional drag of the dampener 42 the force supplied by the spring 64 to the inner friction washer 60 may be adjusted by means of a screw 70 threadedly seated in an axial bore in the stud 48 and having a reduced shank 72 abutting the rod 66 so that the rod may be adjusted axially of the stud to compress or permit expansion of the spring 64 as required. Since the friction dampening surfaces of the slide 44 and washers 60 may collect spin finishes applied to the yarn, or other liquids, or may be operated dry, it has been found that by providing the friction washers and the slide with appropriate finishes the frictional characteristics remain generally consistent under these varying circumstances. For example, the slide 44 may have a polished chrome finish and the washers 60 a matte chrome finish.

It is often desirable or necessary to provide a movable connection between the dampener slide 44 and the spindle frame 16. With reference to FIGS. 1-3 a peg 74 extends outwardly from either face of the end of the slide 44 remote from slot 46 and is fixed to the slide as by welding. The opposite ends of peg 74 have flat upper surfaces which provide connecting points to which a resilient member, here in the form of a rather stiff leaf spring 76 is fixed. Viewing FIG. 3, one end of the .spring 76 has a notch 78 which embraces the slide. Suitable fasteners 80 extend through the spring on either side of the notch 78 and are fixed secured to the peg 74 with the bottom face of the leaf spring firmly seated on the flat upper faces of the peg. The opposite end of the spring 76 is secured to a flat lower face of a rigid block 82 by bolts 84 (FIG. 1) extending through apertures in the spring 76 and threaded into the block 82. The block is fixed to the spindle frame 16 by bolts 86. When winding of yarn 34 onto core 30 is initiated the leaf spring 76 will be arched downwardly. As the diameter of package 36 increases during winding the spring 76 will pass through a straight position (FIG. 1) and then to an upwardly arched position as shown in FIG. 2. All play between the dampener slide 44 and the spindle frame 16 is eliminated in the direction of the path of movement of the spindle frame toward and away from the roller bail as the package grows in diameter. However, the damper slide 44 is permitted to rock about the center defined by stud 48 as the package increases in diameter to compensate for the angle generated due'to the movement of frame 16 between its position at the start of winding and the termination of winding. This change in angle is not totally compensated for by the arcuate slot 46, thereby necessitating the requirement for flexible leaf spring 76 which flexes transversely of the path of movement of frame 16 relative to bail 20. Thus, a pivot type of connection between frame 16 and pedestal 14 is provided which is devoid of undesirable play.

While this invention has been described with reference to a particular embodiment in a particular envi ronment, various changes may be apparent to one skilled in the art and the invention is therefore not to be limited to such embodiment or environment except as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for winding a package comprising, a base, a package support mounted on said base, a member associated with said support for engaging the longitudinal face of the package, means mounting the package support on said base to permit engagement of the package with the member and to afford relative movement between said support and said member along a first path during winding of the package, and dampening means connected between said base and said package support for controlling abrupt movement of the package relative to said member during package winding, said dampening means including a substantially rigid section and a flexible section secured to said rigid section, means mounting said dampening means to afford movement of said rigid and flexible sections along a path corresponding generally to said first path during winding of said package, and said flexible section being arranged to flex in a plane generally transverse to said first path during movement of said rigid and flexible sections.

2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said resilient section is a leaf spring having opposite ends, and including securing means for fixedly securing one of the ends to said support and the other end to said rigid section.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein said dampening means further includes friction means engageable with said rigid section means for controlling the rate of relative movement between said package and said member as said package is wound.

4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 3 including means for urging said friction means into gripping engagement with said rigid section and means for adjusting the force exerted by the said urging means on said friction means.

5. Apparatus as set forth in claim 4 wherein said urging means is a compression spring supported on a stud carrying said friction means, and the adjusting means includes screw means threadedly seated in said stud and engaging said spring to vary the force of the compression spring applied to the members.

6. Apparatus as set forth in claim 5 wherein said friction means includes a pair of friction members, said rigid section being positioned between said friction members, and said screw means is positioned in an axial slot in said stud.

7. Apparatus as set forth in claim 6 wherein said rigid section includes an arcuate slot, said stud passing through said slot, and said friction members engaging said rigid section proximate to said slot.

8. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said mounting means includes a pivot, said package support being shiftable about said pivot to move away from said member during winding of said package. 

1. Apparatus for winding a package comprising, a base, a package support mounted on said base, a member associated with said support for engaging the longitudinal face of the package, means mounting the package support on said base to permit engagement of the package with the member and to afford relative movement between said support and said member along a first path during winding of the package, and dampening means connected between said base and said package support for controlling abrupt movement of the package relative to said member during packaGe winding, said dampening means including a substantially rigid section and a flexible section secured to said rigid section, means mounting said dampening means to afford movement of said rigid and flexible sections along a path corresponding generally to said first path during winding of said package, and said flexible section being arranged to flex in a plane generally transverse to said first path during movement of said rigid and flexible sections.
 2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said resilient section is a leaf spring having opposite ends, and including securing means for fixedly securing one of the ends to said support and the other end to said rigid section.
 3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein said dampening means further includes friction means engageable with said rigid section means for controlling the rate of relative movement between said package and said member as said package is wound.
 4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 3 including means for urging said friction means into gripping engagement with said rigid section and means for adjusting the force exerted by the said urging means on said friction means.
 5. Apparatus as set forth in claim 4 wherein said urging means is a compression spring supported on a stud carrying said friction means, and the adjusting means includes screw means threadedly seated in said stud and engaging said spring to vary the force of the compression spring applied to the members.
 6. Apparatus as set forth in claim 5 wherein said friction means includes a pair of friction members, said rigid section being positioned between said friction members, and said screw means is positioned in an axial slot in said stud.
 7. Apparatus as set forth in claim 6 wherein said rigid section includes an arcuate slot, said stud passing through said slot, and said friction members engaging said rigid section proximate to said slot.
 8. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said mounting means includes a pivot, said package support being shiftable about said pivot to move away from said member during winding of said package. 